The 55th Battery too

There’s a lot of “hurry up and wait” in every army. Here are some members of the 55th Battery taking their ease, or as much ease as they could manage on the ground, in Guelph, prior to their departure for Camp Petawawa, the day after the 48th left Toronto.

Notice the circular bandoliers and the bedrolls amid the baggage.

The Globe reported the departure of the 55th and the 56th batteries on May 30, 1916, noting that the 56th Battery was largely composed of students, graduates and friends of the Ontario Agricultural College. “One notable thing about this battery is the fact that forty-eight of the men who are serving as gunners hold papers entitling them to commissions, but there being no commissions available, they joined in a body when the college battery was formed.” (1)